I loved the Terry Tate commercials as a young office worker. They were unveiled at the Super Bowl in 2003, when I was still managing a database team at Peoplesoft, with weekly issues occurring on our production systems. There were times I wished I could hire Terry to try and convince more people they should be working together using the stick instead of the carrot.

I have known a few people that worked with former atheletes in real life. If you didn't recognize them from their past, you might never realize they used to play sports for a career. I was reminded of them by this short slide show that imagined various NFL players as office workers. If you can get past the idea of professional athletes attacking your business problems in the same way they play on the field, the piece shows a number of different personalities that you might find in business. I've dealt with many of these in the past, with mixed experiences. I certainly haven't enjoyed working with the "Lawrence Taylors" of the business world.

This Friday I wanted to make this a fun poll. I thought you might want to describe yourself or your boss with a famous figure:

Which professional athlete (or other star) displays the type of traits you think would best suit your position?

It doesn't have to be an athlete. Pick someone in the arts, music, movies, etc. Just choose someone famous that you think would exemplify the person you want to be perceived as, or would like to grow to be like. Or represents you now if that's the case.

For me, I think Lawrence Lessig has a fantastic way of expressing himself in relatively few words, but in a very logical manner. I also appreciate his passion and knowledge on various topics. Some day I hope I can express myself as well as I think he does.

Steve Jones

The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

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